1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the fields of content storage and delivery over one or more networks such as for example cable television networks and other networks (e.g., the Internet).
2. Description of Related Technology
Recent advances in video capture and data storage technologies have led to the proliferation of consumer electronics devices that allow a user to record video programming or other content received from a bearer network (such as a cable television or satellite network) on a digital video recorder (DVR) or personal video recorder (PVR), and contemporaneously or subsequently access the content. Additionally, such DVR/PVR devices can also be used to transmit the stored content over a network interface to another device (which may or may not be remote from the DVR/PVR) where the same or another user can access the content.
However, such distribution of the content to a second device or location generally makes inefficient use of the available network bandwidth. For example, when the bearer network is cable television network, and the network interface comprises an internetworking (e.g., Internet) connection realized via a cable or other type of modem, the delivery of the content requires effectively twice the bandwidth it would otherwise require; i.e., first in the downstream direction to receive the content, and second in the upstream direction to transmit the program to the desired destination via the upstream channels (e.g., QAMs) associated with the DOCSIS or other modem architecture in use.
Exemplary prior art in this area includes the “Slingbox™” device manufactured by Sling Media of San Mateo, Calif. This device is capable of enabling a user to, inter alia, watch TV programming from various locations via an Internet-connected PC or similar device. The device utilizes an analog television (RF) tuner; when the user tunes to a given channel, the Slingbox encodes the video input received via the downstream delivery channels (e.g., QAMs or otherwise) in Windows Media or similar format. The encoded content is then streamed to a client application disposed on a Windows XP-based or similar PC via an IP network such as the Internet. Hence, the user can view the data locally (i.e., at the same premises) or remotely so long as they have access to the IP distribution network.
The Slingbox approach (and those similar thereto) suffers from several disadvantages. Specifically, in the case where the programming delivered to the premises is in digital format, the conversion of this digital program to analog format, and back again to digital, results in some degradation in media quality. Also, metadata such as closed captioning, teletext, etc. associated with a digital program is generally lost when converted to and back from the analog format.
Additionally, since the upstream bandwidth from a premises at which the Slingbox or similar device is installed is typically shared by multiple devices, other applications desiring to transmit data upstream may have to compete with the upstream transmission for the remote viewing session, thereby potentially leading to contention and reduced data rates for each user (especially if the Slingbox transmission enforces a minimum required upstream bandwidth for QoS or other considerations).
Similarly, because such use of remote viewing is constrained by the upstream bandwidth of a user's premises to the Internet, viewing high-quality, high-resolution programming such as high definition (HD) programming may be limited or even not available.
Furthermore, once a user makes the investment in a storage and streaming device such as the Slingbox, he/she is largely “locked into” the technology, and accordingly may have difficulty retrofitting the device with enhancements such as new developments in encoding technologies (e.g., new compression formats, new pre-processing techniques, etc.) for generating video for transmission to the remote location.
Aside from the upstream bandwidth requirements, retransmission of content actually present on a premises recording device has several additional disabilities, including the need to maintain the recording or storage device powered up at all times when an upstream transmission may be required, as well as the finite storage volume limitations of the device which can effectively limit the user's selection for content.
Moreover, the viewer must incur added expenses to establish a connection between his television network and the IP network (e.g., must obtain a cable modem and Internet service in addition to the MSO content delivery service). This connection must also have sufficient bandwidth to accommodate “slinging” of the desired content.
Prior art approaches such as Slingbox also generally do not provide a complete (or in some cases even partial) emulation of the user interface(s) associated with the user's premises hardware and software environments. Rather, control of the “slung” content may be performed via the interface that is available on the remote rendering device being used; e.g., a laptop computer. This may be as simple as a codec window (e.g., Windows Media or Real Player), which often provides only minimal control as compared to the full feature set afforded the user by their premises equipment. For example, VOD “trick mode”, electronic program guide (EPG), or other such features may not be available or supported on the remote rendering platform. This causes the user to assimilate and remember the control scheme for their remote rendering device, as well as that for their premises environment, the two of which may be markedly different in terms of capabilities, layout, look-and-feel, etc. This is clearly not optimal for the user.
The prior art approaches described above also do not provide the opportunity for other user-driven features, such as interface with an EPG such as for reserving content for a future date/time.
Using the aforementioned prior art approaches, content owners also generally cannot protect their copyright and distribution rights, since the Slingbox or comparable device is generally agnostic to the content it is “slinging”, as well as the location or address to which the content is being delivered. Hence, copyrighted content can be intentionally or unintentionally directed to remote domains or environments which may or may not have copyright protection or digital rights management (DRM) capability. In a particularly troublesome case, the remote device to which the content is transmitted may comprise a peer in a peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing network environment (such as Kazaa, Morpheus, etc.), thereby facilitating broad distribution of the copyrighted content over the P2P network, e.g., the Internet.
Content owners may further be concerned with the reproduction of copies of their content within the network for distribution purposes. For example, a network operator may have restrictions on replicating and/or distributing content received from the content source. Certain activities are generally recognized as not being in violation of a content owner's copyright. For example, so called “time shifting” (i.e., recording or storing the content for later viewing), and “space shifting” (i.e., moving content from one device or medium to another) of content owned by a purchaser in certain circumstances are recognized by U.S. courts as not violating copyrights. However, the application of such rules is typically quite fact-specific, and hence each situation must be individually analyzed. In short, the content source or copyright owner must have assurances that the network operator (e.g., MSO) which is entrusted with their valuable content will process and distribute this content within the limitations of the law, and not expose the content to undue risk of unauthorized reproduction or distribution.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need for improved apparatus and methods for enabling secondary (e.g., remote) access of content such as television programs without repetitious or inefficient use of network bandwidth. Such apparatus and methods would, in addition to efficiently and flexibly delivering content to one or more remote locations, also ideally protect the content by enforcing authentication and/or rights protection rules.
Additionally, when the network delivers programs in digital format, such apparatus and methods would preferably be able to preserve the high visual quality.
These features would also be provided using substantially extant network infrastructure and components, and would be compatible with a number of different client device and delivery systems including both wired and wireless technologies.
There is also a need to permit data such as content reservation information entered by a subscriber to “roam”; i.e., not be tied to the subscriber's premises device(s).
Moreover, in order to make the subscriber's remote content access experience as consistent with their premises experience, and as intuitive as possible, it would be desirable to have substantial overlap or emulation of the functions provided to the subscriber at their premises at the remote device.